TropicalSoup

My Creative Space blows.

Yeah, I know...enough with the titles! But what would normally be a nice chunk of alone time to craft this week has been taken hostage by a freaking leak in our ceiling (in the ensuite) that's become a bit of a mystery, destroyed part of our ceiling and made using the walk-in wardrobe next door not unlike being in a paddling pool. And has only now been resolved. Funny how visits from plumbers (x 3), roofers (x 2), men with great whopping fans and pointy pricky moisture detectors, and insurance assessors can eat into your *me* time! The above is the current state of my ensuite ceiling and will be for the next few days at least. The black pipe is a fan to dry out the area. And the choice of lining to block the ceiling whilst the fans are on - Rotorua Council rubbish bags - tickles me no end. I can't even say why it amuses me so.

 

(mutant hairdryers)

I'm off outside to see if I can't get some photos of quilts, and then hopefully 5 minutes to do a bit of this before I pick up the kids and have a blat around the forest (apparently Immy thinks we'll be able to see some magic flying ponies there. I just want her to lay off the 'shrooms)...

The ever-stitchy Kirsty at Kootoyou is the host of the Creative Space meme. Head on over to see some gorgeousness.

My new best friend

Have you met? You should! Such a handy little buddy to have around. I want to buy a whole crate of this stuff to keep on hand for the next drama colour run!

And why am I suddenly so friendly with inanimate boxes of consumables? (you know, as opposed to animated boxes of consumables. huh?) Why, because it oh-so-effortlessly removed every trace of pink and red run off, set the dyes of the entire quilt, doused the fires of anxiety, and made me a very happy camper!

Yay!

And erm, is there a Statute of Limitations for UFOs and WIPs? At what point does the time lapse cancel itself out and the clock start again at 0? How about, say, seven years? Yeah, you read that right...and if I could tell you the number of times people have laughed and teasingly asked if this was my second/third/ eleventh incarnation of this quilt because it couldn't possible still be the same one hanging around, surely!!! A little progress...who knows, if I really apply myself I might just scrape in under 14 years!

Bugger

The night before last I finished the binding on 3 quilts, and yesterday I washed and dried them, ready for photos and hopefully to list for sale. And check out the colour difference between the cowboys next to this particular red, and the cowboys everywhere else on the quilt. Bugger, indeed. Thank goodness it's only one of the quilts, I suppose.

Off to research ways of undoing the colour run...any tips???

Quick party fixes and a sneak peek

Another party, another quick personalised gift for the birthday boy! (this is what I was doing on Saturday morning when I decided to become needle finger. TG I avoided getting blood on the pouch...though I suppose many 4 year old boys would have found it cool. The parents, not so much!) Immy woke early and I put her to work sticking on the letters after I'd sewn the books, and so we sat there working away, chattering happily like 2 little old biddies...man, I love this being able to craft together malarky!

...And since I keep showing you the same old same old, here's a peek of what those big-ass quilt blocks are becoming. To give you an idea of scale - each block is 8" cut, and I am standing on our (high) bed, with the camera at its widest angle, and pressed against the ceiling, and I can still barely get it all in. I am a little scared of how I'm going to quilt it, to be honest!!!

My creative space is cleaner than it was...

...because I have spent a huge amount of time this week and all of today getting stuck in to tidying this mucky, disarrayed house of mine. I will organise it into submission, I will sort out every nook, crevice and drawer, and I will keep it that way! That's my August resolution! I keep walking around the *done* parts of my house and grinning like an eejit because it just feels so nice...I feel like I've spring-cleaned my noggin!

Oh, and it did help that my gorgeously wonderful, generous (and well organised!) mum came in for the day and not only helped me stay on task, but also completely obliterated my towering ironing pile - how lucky am I?! Thanks mum!!!

Funnily enough, I haven't tackled the studio yet - that's tomorrow's job, but since it means a day surrounded my all my crafty bits and bobs, it doesn't seem like too much of a hardship...especially given the payoff! I'm quite looking forward to it.

I'm off to go show my linen cupboard who's boss, but check out the lovely Kirsty of Kootoyou, who hosts the Creative Space meme each week. Who knows, you may even see some actual craft going on!

Perils of Dog Ownership

photo

Two men are talking about the merits of owning dogs. Says one, "I'm thinking of getting a labrador."

"You're bloody mad!" replies his mate, "have you seen how many of their owners go blind!"

He ain't armless, he's a cephalopod*

The octopus is finished, and now just awaits the purchase of some more command adhesive sticky things before it finds its way onto the wall above Cole's bed. (if only it could actually use its suckers!)

I like it a little more now, a day or so after finishing it, than I did at the time, but I'm still not in love...I was aiming for that 'simple and whimsical' look - the one that appears plain and straightforward without actually being so, but I think it's veered towards looking like something a 5 year could have done. Maybe Seth and I just need to spend a little more time getting to know each other. Hmmm.

Oh, and the eye patch flips up so Seth does have 2 functioning button eyes! (The original brief was for a cowboy pirate octopus, but I couldn't master the cowboy hat. Cole graciously allowed me to eliminate the cowboy part. or he forgot. Whatever)

*when I presented the finished piece to Cole and introduced him to Seth the Cephalopod, he was quite pleased, but then turned to me with a concerned look on face and said: *well actually, Mama, he is not a seffapott, he is actually an octopus!* And therein was the start of a discussion of genus and species!

Apparently I have a vendetta against index fingers.

Trying to replicate their mother's genius.

Mine, specifically. A mere few months after my attempted remodel of my right index finger with a rotary cutter, yesterday morning (at the ungodly hour of 5am, I might add!), I managed to put a sewing machine needle through my left index finger. Duh, Einstein! I have to go back for xrays tomorrow since nobody's quite sure if I have any needle left in there, but in the meantime I have some football sized antibiotics to chew on. Crafting for this lefty is a bit tricky right now!

In case you were bored and wondering what to do, don't embed a needle in the side of your finger ...trust me, it's nowhere near as fun and painfree as it sounds!